The Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, was killed on Monday in an attack on a United Nations convoy in Goma, the east of the country.
A policeman travelling with him was also killed in the attack, Italy’s Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed.
“It is with deep sorrow that the foreign ministry confirms the death today in Goma of the Italian ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Luca Attanasio, and of a policemen from the carabinieri,” the Italian foreign ministry statement said.
“The ambassador and the soldier were travelling in a car in a convoy of Monusco, the United Nations Organisation stabilisation mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
According to local reports, the convoy was attacked near the town of Kanyamahoro at around 10:15 a.m. (0815 GMT) and was part of a kidnap attempt.
Many armed groups operate in and around Virunga, which lies along Congo’s borders with Rwanda and Uganda, and they have repeatedly attacked Virunga rangers.
“The three fatalities have been identified as the Italian Ambassador to DRC, Luca Attanasio, an Italian embassy official, and a WFP driver,” the UN agency said in a statement.
Other passengers were also injured as the delegation was set to visit a WFP school feeding program.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio left a meeting in Brussels to return to Rome following the news.
“The circumstances of this brutal attack are not yet known and no effort will be spared to shed light on what happened,” Di Maio said on Facebook, honouring the victims as “two servants of the state.”
